Publishers produce books in hardcover and paperback versions with different prices and time of market introduction. Analysis of detailed book-level data reveals that (i) price-cost differentials cannot be explained by cost differences, making this an example of quality discrimination; (ii)...

Publishers produce books in hardcover and paperback versions with different prices and time of market introduction. Analysis of detailed book-level data reveals that (i) market introduction time has a strong effect on sales, suggesting that time is the crucial dimension of discrimination; (ii)...

In the presence of scale economies or network effects, securing sales to a large buyer can be pivotal to a supplier's decision to produce. Conventional wisdom holds that being pivotal improves a buyer's bargaining position vis-a-vis the supplier, because the supplier's threat point is poor. But...

Chairman Upton's request to the FCC for additional tiers to current ownership caps is an important step in closing the regulatory gap between broadcast radio and competing platforms. Granted there are concerns raised over concentrated market power in the broadcast radio industry, where critics...

I examine the implications of employer learning and statistical discrimination for initial employment rates, wages, and occupational attainment and for wage growth and occupational change over a career using a model in which the sensitivity of productivity to worker skill is increasing in the...

Do larger markets offer better products? The question has implications both for theories of cities and for theories of market organization. We document that in the restaurant industry, where quality is produced largely with variable costs, the range of qualities on offer increases in market...

In media markets, products are highly differentiated but prices are often bunched at apparent focal points. I use a comprehensive cross-section data set on the German book market to assess whether such focal points are a result of upstream coordination and whether the option to impose resale...

Publishers of computer software and music claimed losses of nearly $16 billion to piracy in 1999. Theoretically, however, piracy may raise legitimate demand through positive demand-side externalities, sampling, and sharing. Accordingly, the actual impact of piracy on the legitimate demand is an...

This research essay finds that, when consumer uncertainty exists regarding the valuation of intellectual property, unauthorised copying in the presence of network externalities can induce greater firm profits relative to the case without copying. Copying can be viewed as a conduit for...

In recent years, federal policymakers, state legislators, and state Attorneys General have all shown renewed interest in regulating commercial advertising and marketing. Several new regulatory initiatives are being proposed, or are already underway, that could severely curtail or restrict...